Welcome to our fifth edition of the Emulation Zone Newsletter. In this issue we are excit-

ed to update you on features in our new and improved web site, clarify the question of com-

petition, and inform you of new developments underway to tackle analog obsolescence.

Through our government-industry partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA),

SRI’s Microcircuit Emulation Center is dedicated to delivering Form, Fit, Function, and inter-

face (F3I) replacements for legacy of Defense systems. The Emulation program offers a flexi-

ble technology for any phase of a weapon system life cycle. It thus provides a permanent

solution to obsolescence at the component or board level, while reducing total ownership

cost and maintaining readiness levels.

SRI International Microcircuit Emulation Center

Emulation Zone

Volume 3, Issue 1

Volume 3, issue 1

ManTech Award 1

Website Gets a New Look 1

GEM Competes with Industry? 1

Tradeshows & Events 2

Analog Market Dynamics 2

Solving Analog Obsolescence 3

DoD ManTech awarded the Microcircuit Emulation

Team the “Supply Chain Improvement Award” at the

Defense Manufacturers Conference held in Decem-

ber, 2017. This was in recognition of the DLA Ad-

vanced Microcircuit Emulation (AME) Program’s ef-

forts to re-establish design and manufacturing capabil-

ity for military grade 128kb RAM/ROM microcircuits.

This memory technology rapidly transitioned to pro-

duction and is expected to support over 100 Military

Weapon Systems.

MANTECH HONORS THE MICROCIRCUIT EMULATION TEAM

EMULATION WEB SITE GETS A MAKEOVER

If you haven’t already seen our new website, now is the time to take a look. Check us out on

your desktop, laptop, phone, tablet, or anywhere else you can go online because our new

design is mobile responsive. Generally, we have improved on site navigation and offer a great

search feature where you can use a keyword and see where that term is used on any page

that it appears. On the Parts page you can search specifically with any Part Number, Generic

P/N, or NSN and the results will filter as you type. The same search functionality works on

our Programs We Support page; you can search by Weapons System Designator Code

(WSDC), WSDC Name, or Service. If you click on any diagrams or images throughout the

site a modal will open with that image so that you can take a closer look. Also, we have

changed how we edit the site to be much simpler on our end, so you should see more fre-

quent updates as we make progress in our endeavors. Notice anything that can be improved?

Let us know because we are always improving. Overall, we have made the design much more

intuitive and useful for our end users, so go ahead and check it out! www.gemes.com

DOES THE GEM PROGRAM COMPETE WITH INDUSTRY?

We are often asked, “Does the GEM program compete with other microcircuit distributors or manufacturers?” Well the short

answer is “ No.” As a Government funded program GEM does not compete with any other accepted source(s). In 1997, DLA

entered into an agreement with the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) to ensure the GEM Program was not Emulating

circuit designs still supported by the IC industry. To comply with this agreement, all RFQ responses are routed through the

DLA Land and Maritime GEM Program office that makes every attempt to locate an alternative source. Only when no acceptable

sources can be found will DLA authorize SRI to issue a GEM Emulation proposal on behalf of the GEM Program.

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UPCOMING TRADESHOWS

GOMAC

March 12-15, 2018

Hyatt Regency

Miami, FL

Booth #721

DIXIE CROW

March 20 – 21, 2018

Museum of Aviation

Warner Robins, GA

Booth #54

Heart Conference

April 16-17, 2018

Hilton El Conquistador

Tucson, AZ

Booth #14

We also plan to present and/or exhibit at:

Components for Military & Space (CMSE), May 7-10, Los Angles, CA

AVCOM Obsolescence Working Group Meeting, June 5-7, Fort Walton Beach, FL

DLA Land and Maritime Supplier Conference & Exposition, June 19-20, Columbus, OH

Tinker and the Primes, August 14-16, Midwest City, OK

F-16 & Proven Aircraft TCG Worldwide Review (WWR), September 10-13, Ogden, UT

C-130 TCG International Technical Program Review, October 2018, TBD

F-15 Technical Coordination Program (TCP) Worldwide Review, November 2018, TBD

On December 4th through 7th , 2017, we attended the Diminishing Manufac-

turing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) show in Tampa, FL., where

the theme was “Managing Obsolescence Risk- How to Optimize Budget,

Schedule and Readiness.” This was held in conjunction with the Defense

Manufacturing Conference (DMC), and the exhibit hall was shared. The

Emulation team presented three papers at the show, “Microcircuit Obsoles-

cence Solutions in the Advanced Microcircuit Emulation (AME) Program”,

“DLA’s Generalized Emulation of Microcircuits (GEM) Program Collabora-

tion Case Study,” and “DLA’s Generalized Emulation of Microcircuits (GEM)

Program.” Thanks to all who stopped by our booth and who attended the

presentations!

ANALOG OBSOLESCENCE, MARKET DYNAMICS Historically, digital logic components have been more widely used in circuit design as compared to analog devices. This is still true

today as evident by the overall semiconductor industry revenues ($91B for Logic vs. $48B for Analog in 2016). Diminishing manu-

facturing resources and material shortages (DMSMS) for microcircuit has also followed this trend. Logic components are usually

more susceptible to obsolescence due to the selected fabrication process used. Analog devices in the eighties (and many still to-

day) typically used bipolar processes to achieve precision, high current drive capability, and high speed operation, etc., while digital

devices targeted CMOS processes for low power and cost. Bi-

polar transistors are not subject to the same shrinking (Moore's

Law) that CMOS transistors enjoy so the density of bipolar tran-

sistor circuits remained relatively constant with time. Thus ana-

log designs had more “staying power”, or longer lifecycles. Due

to these issues industry solutions for microcircuit obsolescence

have primarily focused on digital parts rather than analog.

As designs became more mixed signal in nature, analog compo-

nents became increasingly difficult to source. The Defense Logis-

tics Agency (DLA) reports that for QML components that have

been identified as DMSMS, a significant portion are classified as

analog. To address this industrial base shortfall, meet weapon-

system requirements, and satisfy DLA’s wide-ranging needs, a

cost-effective, reliable source for analog/linear microcircuits will

be implemented by the Emulation program.

Source: Worldwide Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) and SIA

Global Semiconductor Sales by Product Type

RECENTLY ATTENDED SHOWS

SRI uses a split manufacturing process, in which wafer lots are processed through the majority of

the manufacturing flow and held in inventory. This technology is based on gate arrays fabricated

with predefined circuit elements (base wafers) which are interconnected by multiple levels of

metal conductors (wafer personalization) and minimizes the wafer production time for emulated

devices. This approach allows Integrated Circuits (ICs) that were originally manufactured in di-

verse technologies to be produced from a managed inventory of standardized base wafers.

Applying this same methodology, the DLA Advanced Microcircuit Emulation (AME) program

embarked on a study to determine what foundational technology should be developed for ana-

log base arrays to address the different classes of analog circuits. Weapon systems use a varie-

ty of different types of analog functions or components; operational amplifiers (Op Amps), volt-

age regulators, converters, etc., and depending on the desired performance specifications, the

same function may be available in different processes, i.e., bipolar, CMOS, and BiCMOS. Be-

cause there so many variables, several factors must be considered . This includes understanding

and defining analog transistor requirements, the necessary circuit elements required to build

analog functions, layout approaches, process selection, and test strategy.

A number of test arrays targeting different process technologies were designed. The goal of

which was to fabricate, assemble, test and use this information to build and optimize a produc-

tion array suitable of being QML certified. Three types test arrays were developed in one reti-

cle. Each array included different transistor variations (NPN, PNP, NMOS, PMOS) and circuit

elements (diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.). The BiCMOS array also targeted +20V Op Amps.

The bipolar array allowed us to address other analog functions. The closed-cell (annular) tran-

sistor CMOS array allowed us to examine radiation-hardening-by-process (RHBP) techniques.

Measurements were collected for all arrays and all devices. Through a iterative optimization

process, we have started to narrow in on future production array and define a generic analog

cell library and models.

Initially we will target a +20V BiCMOS on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) array for production, opti-

mized for Op Amps and other analog functions. The “+20V” implies an absolute differential

supply between the most positive and most negative terminals of the part. In Op Amp parlance,

this might be a +12V single supply op amp or a +/- 8V Op Amp, etc.. Op Amps were priori-

tized based on demand as they are one of the most common linear building blocks in analog

electronics. A BiCMOS process was selected as it combines both bipolar and CMOS technolo-

gies on the same device and allows us to take advantage of the inherent benefits of each technol-

ogy and offers the greatest flexibility to address a number of

different Op Amp types.

We plan to complete development of the first +20V analog

base array in the late 2018 timeframe. Beyond this, the AME

program is evaluating new technology extensions (higher volt-

ages and different analog functions), in our continuing efforts to

support the War Fighter. Establishing this new manufacturing

source for analog microcircuits will provide a cost-effective,

long-term solution that provides total life cycle support for

weapons systems, averting mission-impaired-capability-awaiting

-parts (MICAP) incidence, production shutdowns, and main-

taining weapon system readiness levels.

SOLVING ANALOG OBSOLESCENCE, THE EMULATION APPROACH

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CONTACT US Visit the Emulation program at www.gemes.com, or contact us at geminfo@sri.com. A complete GEM

parts list is available at our website. Also, you can download previous newsletter editions at this site.

Remember, GEM devices are NEVER discontinued!

Stay Connected, follow us on Twitter! Twitter Handle: @SRIEmulation, URL: https://twitter.com/

Analog microcircuits are

pervasive in military

systems and used in a

wide spectrum of

applications